When our County government is spending more than it receives, it is spending too much. It would be hard to find a Suffolk County resident who doesn't agree with this. The current administration's fiscal policies have brought Suffolk County's finances to the worst shape they have ever been in our entire 336 year history! As a successful business leader and homeowner, Gary Pollakusky knows how to control overhead, eliminate waste, balance a budget and meet a bottom line. These skills seem to be entirely non-existent in today's county government.
With the current budget shortfall at over $150 million and a debt of well over $2.1 billion, the county continues on an unsustainable track that must be changed if we want to avoid the fate of a New York State control board. Wasteful spending and reckless borrowing from New York State and the county's sewer stabilization fund ($171 million) is not the answer. In 2017, our county debt stood at $2.1 billion. Two years later, and the county is still hemorrhaging from debt and it is borrowing to make payroll! It is clear that the Bellone administration is part of the problem, not the solution.
Real, recurring revenue is what is needed; not one-shot fee fiscal gimmickry. Red light camera tickets, mortgage recording fees, cremation fees are not the type of "gotcha" revenue that county residents deserve. Our elected officials have the responsibility to treat the public purse as we treat our household budgets.
As your legislator, Gary will bring fiscal responsibility to the legislature by making the tough decisions to ensure that our family and friends can stay on Long Island.
Gary will ensure fair budget practices that no longer overestimate revenue and underestimate expenses; a practice that has gone on for too long and is hurting the county's ability to properly balance the budget. Counting on speculative revenues only increases our debt when those revenues fail to materialize. The Legislature can no longer make pie-in-the-sky predictions and then act surprised when those revenues fail to meet expectations. It's time for real change.